1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transition metal compound useful as a catalyst component for olefin polymerization, a catalyst for olefin polymerization and a process for producing an olefinic polymer. In more particular, the present invention relates to a new transition metal compound being able to be easily synthesized, a catalyst component for olefin polymerization comprising said transition metal compound, a catalyst for olefin polymerization exhibiting a high polymerization activity in polymerization of the olefin using said transition metal compound, and a process for efficiently producing an olefinic homopolymer and copolymer using said catalyst component for olefin polymerization.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reports concerning the polymerization of olefins such as ethylene, propylene and the like using a nickel and palladium compound as the transition metal component of a catalyst have been widely known. For example, a process using a complex containing a phosphorane compound as a ligand is reported in 1) U. Klabunbe, S. D. Ittel, Journal of Molecular Catalysis, Vol.41(1987), 123; U. Klabunbe, R. Mulhaupt, A. H. Janowicz, J. Calabrese and S. D. Ittel, Journal of Polymer Science, A, Polymer Chemistry, Vol.25(1987), 1989; U. Klabunbe, T. H. Tulip, D. C. Roe and S. D. Ittel, Journal of organometallic Chemistry Vol.334(1987), 141, and 2) W. Keim, R. Appel, A. Storeck, C. Kruger and R. Goddard, Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English, Vol.26(1987), 1012, or 3) H. Nakazawa, S. Igai and K. Imaoka, Japanese Patent Publication (Unexamined) Hei 8-143623. A process using a nickel complex having a chelate type N--O ligand is reported in S. Y. Desjardins, K. J. Cavell, J. L. Hoare, B. W. Skelton, A. N. Sobolev, A. H. White and W. Keim, Journal of Organometallic Chemistry Vol.544(1997), 163, and a process using a complex having a diimine type ligand prepared by glyoxal, a diketone and acenaphthene quinone with various kind of substituted aniline compounds in 5) L. K. Johnson, C. M. Killian and M. Brookhart, Journal of American Chemical Society, Vol.117(1995), 6414;
L. K. Johnson, S. Mecking and M. Brookhart, Journal of American Chemical Society, Vol.118(1996), 267;
C. M. Killian, D. J. Tempel, L. K. Johnson and M. Brookhart, Journal of American Chemical Society, Vol.118(1996), 11664 and WO 96/23010.
WO 96/23010 describes in Example 205 that an oligomer is obtained by contacting ethylene with a catalyst using a complex of 2,2'-isopropylidenebis[(4s)-4-methyl-2-oxazoline]nickel bromide and methylaluminoxane.
However, these catalysts have been not always satisfied from the viewpoint of polymerization activity in olefin polymerization.
From the above-mentioned circumstances, the subject to be solved by the present invention, namely, the object of the present invention is to provide a new transition metal compound being able to be easily synthesized and useful as a catalyst component for olefin polymerization, a catalyst component for olefin polymerization comprising said transition metal compound, a catalyst for olefin polymerization exhibiting a high polymerization activity in polymerization of the olefin using said transition metal compound, and a process for efficiently producing an olefinic homopolymer and copolymer using said catalyst component for olefin polymerization.